(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a fire fighting tool that is designed to be releasably and adjustably attached to the length of a conventional pike pole. Once attached to the pike pole, the tool provides a handle that projects perpendicularly from the pike pole that enhances the fire fighter's ability to exert a pushing or pulling force on the pike pole.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The pike pole is among the oldest tools used for fire fighting and remains the most practical way of pulling down structure to expose pockets of fire. Particularly useful for removing ceilings, the pike pole and modern variants are in daily use by virtually every fire department in the United States.
Over the years, the conventional pike pole has undergone various modifications in an attempt to make it easier to penetrate structure, whether the structure be lath and plaster, drywall, pressed tin or lightweight wood panels, and then hook into the structure to pull the structure down from a building ceiling or wall. The length of the pike pole has also been modified with some poles being provided with a D-shaped handle opposite the pole tip. The D-shaped handle made it easier for a fire fighter to maintain a grip on the pike pole while pulling down structures, but the added bulk of the D-shaped handle made the modified pike poles difficult to stow in standard pike pole racks of fire equipment and also allowed no adjustment of the handleposition along the length of the pike pole or in the orientation of the handle relative to the pole tip.
Over recent years the requirements of fire fighters have also changed, placing less emphasis on the physical strength of the fire fighter. It is no longer a given that all of the fire fighters at the scene of a fire will be over five foot ten inches tall and over 175 pounds. Jobs that require a strong grip-and upper body strength, such as pulling ceilings, are very difficult for smaller fire fighters to perform safely with the conventional configuration of the fire fighting pike pole. Adding to the problem is the continuing reduction in the fire fighter crew size. Forty years ago, five man engines and six man trucks were common. Today, three man crews are common and two man crews are not unknown. In many cases, rotating crews on physically demanding jobs like pulling ceilings is simply not possible due to the shortage of fire fighters.